The US is backing a high-stakes bid by Gentry Beach, a close ally of Donald Trump, to acquire DR Congo’s Rubaya coltan mine as part of a wider peace and investment deal in the conflict-torn region. Rubaya, not far from Goma city in eastern DRC, has been controlled by various militias over the 30-year conflict. These militias use the mine’s output to finance their insurgency against the Congolese government. Washington views the mine, which produces about half of the DRC’s coltan, as key to its economic approach to end decades of unrest in eastern Congo. The plan would channel over $500 million in private investment into mining and infrastructure, thereby reducing Chinese dominance in the country’s critical minerals industry. Washington also hopes its investments in the region will lure M23 rebels out of contested areas.
Financial Times
